Roller



Oct. 24, 1933. R G, LE TOURNEAU 1,931,766

ROLLER Filed Nov. 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 D A 18 "MI hn.

3 I 6 15 16 INVENTOR R. 6 .116 YLw-neau' Q .Lmws;

ATTORNEY 24, 1933- R. G. LE TOURNEAU 1,931,766

ROLLER Filed Nov. 29, 1932 2 Shets-Sheet 2 lllllllllllllllllllll III III a n IIIIIIIIII I INVENTOR R.6 .L 270M126.

BY mm ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 24,1933] PATENT OFFICE ROLLER. Robert G. Tourneau, Stockton, Calif.

Application November 29, 1932 Serial No. 644,783

3 Claims. (01. 55-6) This invention relates to ground working rollers and particularly to aroller of what is known as the sheep's foot type, though the novel features of the roller are not limited to one of this particular type.

One object of this invention is to provide a two-roller unit, with the rollers axially alined so that a wide area can be rolled simultaneously, and to mount the rollers with a support thereto between so arranged that while adequate hearing for the roller shaft is had and which will avoid the need of an execessivelylarge shaft, the space between the rollers'themselves' is-reduced to a minimum so that very little ground is not actually engaged by the rollers.

Another object is to provide a leveler blade on the structure ahead of the rollers so that the ground engaged by the rollers will he already smoothed down or leveled oh, and to adiustahly go mount this leveler blade on the frame of the structure in what l believe to he a novel man-- ner.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will he exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed. These objects l accomplish by means of such stmcture and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following so specification and claims.

he. the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

l is a side elevation of the roller.

2 is a top plan view, one of the roller as drums being partly hrolren out.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged iragmentary section on the line 3-3 at Fig. 2.

Fig. is an enlarged vertical section of one of the leveler blade mounting and adjusting units. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the tongue of the roller showing the mounting of the swivel draft eye therein.

6 is a cross section on the line 6-6 of Fi 5. r

Rcierringnow more particularly to the characte'rs oi reference on the drawings; the frame of the roller comprises heavy transverse front and rear heams l and 2 of hollow construction and 5 preferably square in cross section. These beams are connected together at their ends and centrally of their length by bars 3,, the central oar particularly heing'ouite thin yet deep. A hollow tongue projects forwardly from the beam 1 centrally of its length being braced againstlateral deflection by diagonal beams 5 extending between the tongue and said beam.

The rollers themselves of which there are two are disposed between the front and rear beams and between the adjacent bars 3 and are in the form of hollow drums 6 having solid end walls 7 which are inwardly dished as shown. The end walls of each drum at the center support a sleeve 8 which is rigidly secured to and projects through said end walls but terminates short of the ends of the drum cylinder itself, as shown in Fig. 3. A shaft 9 projects through the sleeves of both drums and through the bars '3.

At its ends the shaft is clamped between. blocks 1o secured to the end bars 3 on the outside and at its middle is supported by the central bar 3 and also by heavy plates or, blocks ll through which the shaft projects and which are rigidly welded against the opposite sides of said her. Bushings 12 are pressed into the ends of the sleeves, said bushings having end flanges 13 at their outer ends projecting outwardly and disposed between the ends of the .drum sleeves and the adjacent shaft hearing members. Y

Each bushing and its flange has an oil passage 14 therethrough whose outer end terminates in the peripheral edge of the flange so that oil may be readily fed into this passage to lubricate the shaft when the corresponding drum turns so that v the passage termination is uppermost. To keep the oil passage clear of falling dust and dirt and also to prevent such matter from falling into the crevices between the bushing flanges and the adjacent hearing members i provide hoods or covers l5. These members cover the exposed elements above mentioned and rest on the bars 3, being removaloly held in place by slots 16 out in from the ends of the cover plates to engage the hars, said ends being turned down so as to straddle the bars, as shown in Fig. l. By reason of the above described arrangement it will be seen that ample hearing or supporting for the shaft is provided between the drums, there is plenty of space for the temporary removal of the corresponding cap and the mau nipulation of an oil can, and yet the spacing hetween the rollers themselves need he but little greater than the thickness of the central bar.

Else sleeves 8 have water-tight connection with the end walls of the drumsso that they can he filled with water ballast if desired through plugged openings l'lin the drum, without any water possibly leaking to the bushings and shaft. Sheeps foot pads 18 with which the drums are freely provided are mounted on the outer ends drums. These stems are built up of plate metal strips rigidly welded together which gives great rigidity and strength with a minimum of weight. Just at the ends of the drums themselves the endmost pads can project laterally from their stems so as to just miss the frame bars 3.

Disposed immediately under the front beam 1 and extending the full length of both roller drums is a leveler blade 21, backed along its up-* per portion by a hollow reinforcing beam 22 welded thereon. Hollow rectangular uprights 23 abut at their lower ends against the beam 22 toward its ends, and are pivotally connected thereto by bolts 24, The uprights are slidable and terminate in sleeves 25 rigidly secured against the back side of the beam 1 and projecting above the same some distancegso that the uprights may have a considerable length of bearing area therein. The upper portions of the sleeves form bearings for screw stems 26 which are threaded into nuts 27 welded on the upper ends of' the uprights 23. The stems above the sleeves are provided with crank handles 28 whereby the stems may be easily turned by hand and whose hubs of course prevent downward movement of the stems. By means of this construction it will be seen that the blade may be raised or lowered at either end independently, as ground conditions may require, Also the blade is supported both against vertical movement and backward deflection solely by the adjustable uprights, thus simplifying the construction without loss of emciency. The hollow construction of the uprights and other parts gives great strength and rigidity with a minimum of weight.- a

The tongue 4, which as stated, is hollow is provided at its forward end with longitudinally spaced bushings 29 which are fitted into cross blocks 30' welded inside the tongue. The bushings form bearings for the spindle 31 of the swivel draft eye 32 by which connection with a tractor is made. In this manner freedom of swivel ac-- tion is had with a relatively close fit being maintained between the bushings and spindle and Without the danger of the bearing surfaces becoming clogged with dirt.

The spindle projects beyond the innermost bushing and is threaded along such projecting. portion. This portion is engaged by a. collar which is in the form of a nut 33 split radially on one side, the split portions being drawn together by a bolt 34 therethrough. In this manner a much more secure grip on the shaft may be obtained than is possible with the use of an ordinary collar and cross pin, while'it may be removed memos or installed with greater case. A covered window 35 in the side of the tongue 4 in the plane of the collar provides for manipulation of the clamping bolt when necessary.-

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a double roller, a frame which includes a longitudinally extending and horizontally thin bar, roller drums on opposite sides of the bar and disposed with their ends close to the bar, hub elements on the drums terminating short of the ends of the drums, a shaft projecting through the hubs and bar, blocks secured on the opposite sides of the bar about the shaft and providing additional bearing area for the latter, and bushings in the hubs engaging the shaft and terminating at said blocks.

2, In a double roller, a frame which includes a longitudinally extending bar, roller drums on' opposite sides of said bar, a shaft projecting centrally through the drums and bar, said bar being provided with shaft supporting elements, bushings mounted in the drums at the ends thereof and engaging the shaft, the bushings at the adjacent ends of the drums terminating at the shaft supporting elements, and a cover member removably' mounted on the bar and extending over the crevices formed between the bushings and ele-.

'ments.

3. In a double roller, a frame which includes a longitudinally extending bar, roller drums on opposite sides of said bar, a shaft projecting centrally through the drums and bar, said bar being.

provided with shaft supporting elements, bushings mounted in the drums at the ends thereof and engaging the shaft, outwardly projecting flanges on the bushings at their outer ends, the

flanges at the adjacent ends of the drums termi-,

ROBERT G. LE TOU.

Mil

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